Social research

Social research is a research conducted by social scientists following a systematic plan. Social research methodologies can be classified as quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative designs approach social phenomena through quantifiable evidence, and often rely on statistical analysis of many cases (or across intentionally designed treatments in an experiment) to create valid and reliable general claims. Related to quantity. Qualitative designs emphasize understanding of social phenomena through direct observation, communication with participants, or analysis of texts, and may stress contextual subjective accuracy over generality. Related to quality. While methods may be classified as quantitative or qualitative, most methods contain elements of both. For example, qualitative data analysis often involves a fairly structured approach to coding the raw data into systematic information, and quantifying intercoder reliability. Thus, there is often a more complex relationship between "qualitative" and "quantitative" approaches than would be suggested by drawing a simple distinction between them. Social scientists employ a range of methods in order to analyse a vast breadth of social phenomena: from census survey data derived from millions of individuals, to the in-depth analysis of a single agent's social experiences; from monitoring what is happening on contemporary streets, to the investigation of ancient historical documents. Methods rooted in classical sociology and statistics have formed the basis for research in other disciplines, such as political science, media studies, program evaluation and market research. Social scientists are divided into camps of support for particular research techniques. These disputes relate to the historical core of social theory (positivism and antipositivism; structure and agency). While very different in many aspects, both qualitative and quantitative approaches involve a systematic interaction between theory and data. The choice of method often depends largely on what the researcher intends to investigate.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related publications (2)

Related concepts (61)

Related courses (38)

Related lectures (42)

Social research

Quantitative marketing research

Quantitative marketing research is the application of quantitative research techniques to the field of marketing research. It has roots in both the positivist view of the world, and the modern marketing viewpoint that marketing is an interactive process in which both the buyer and seller reach a satisfying agreement on the "four Ps" of marketing: Product, Price, Place (location) and Promotion. As a social research method, it typically involves the construction of questionnaires and scales.

Survey methodology

Survey methodology is "the study of survey methods". As a field of applied statistics concentrating on human-research surveys, survey methodology studies the sampling of individual units from a population and associated techniques of survey data collection, such as questionnaire construction and methods for improving the number and accuracy of responses to surveys. Survey methodology targets instruments or procedures that ask one or more questions that may or may not be answered.

Driving an electric vehicle. A sociological analysis on pioneer users

Christophe Jemelin, Nicolas Louvet

In most of the western countries, car is the prevalent means of transport for local mobility. At the same time, sensitivity to environmental issues is increasing, correlated to the consciousness that

2011

Economical and sociological survey about underground planing

Pierrick Maire

2006

AR-667: Rythmologies. Sociétés et territoires à l<squote/>épreuve

Le séminaire international a pour vocation d'explorer la notion de "rythme" comme grille de lecture des mondes contemporains, mode de représentation et de transformation actif par la pratique voire pa

HUM-433: How people learn: Designing Learning Tools II

The students will understand the cognitive and social factors which affect learning - particularly in science and engineering. They will be able to use social research techniques as part of the design

HUM-388: Personalized health: biomedical & social challenge

La médecine 4P (personnalisée, préventive, prédictive et participative) bouleverse les connaissances médicales établies, les configurations institutionnelles de la médecine et les expériences vécues d

Shedding light on lives with logs

Explores using log data to understand human behaviors, focusing on food consumption and social interactions.

Big Data and Social Sciences: The Need for Big Theory

Emphasizes the importance of big theory in social sciences when dealing with big data and the need for new conventions in the field.

Link between Objectives and Study Scope MOOC: Analyse du cycle de vie environmental

Explores the relationship between study scope and objectives in defining research elements.